Dec. 19, 2012

Port Authority gives members of the media a tour of a tunnel starting at the Hoboken PATH station on Nov. 27. / Associated Press

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@APPLarry

NEW YORK — The PATH rail line with the worst damage to Hoboken will return Wednesday starting at 5 a.m.

The Hoboken line suffered the worst flooding damage from superstorm Sandy, requiring around-the-clock repairs and closing down the 33rd Street line for two consecutive weekends.

Hoboken trains initially will run in both directions until 10 p.m., seven days a week.

Port Authority officials said the announcement means weekday service between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. will be back at all 13 PATH stations and on three of PATH’s four regular lines: Journal Square to 33rd Street, Hoboken to 33rd Street and Newark to the World Trade Center.

With the return of service from Hoboken, riders now can access the entire PATH system between New Jersey and New York. The return of Hoboken service provides more than 29,000 commuters with service between Hoboken and midtown Manhattan in time for the holidays.

Hurricane Sandy decimated the entire PATH system, flooding the tunnels with as much as 8 feet of water and destroying critical signal and switching systems.

PATH workers and contractors have pumped more than 10 million gallons of water from system tunnels and fixed and replaced numerous switches and signaling equipment.

Officials said the return of limited 24-hour PATH service is expected by year’s end, and in time for New Year’s Eve.

Officials credited the work of PATH employees for repairing the storm damage to get some service to Hoboken. For the time being, service on weekends will be available between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. on both the Newark to 33rd Street and Hoboken to 33rd Street lines.

There will be no service to Exchange Place and the World Trade Center on weekends, to allow work to proceed on restoring service between Hoboken and the World Trade Center.

Resumption of direct service between Hoboken and the World Trade Center remains several weeks away, pending ongoing work and replacement of badly damaged signal equipment.